Underlion wrote:AL beat a #17 LSU the best team they beat all year who just lost their bowl game. The best team AL played all year was Auburn and they lost handily. Auburn BTW just lost to Central FL and will not end the year in the top 10. But ESPN will tell us AL played a better schedule than OSU? They must use what the team was ranked when AL played them to justify propping up an SEC team. Today AL will need to beat someone but they didn't deserve the chance.

Several points you are neglecting about Alabama...

- they basically destroyed #3 Fla St to open the season. Recall how Deondre Francois was everyone's Heisman bandwagon guy going into the season...he goes down for the season and FSU loses a lot more games than had they not lost Francois.- Tide loses one game all year, close road loss to huge rival who is a pretty decent team- Alabama loses 4-5 LBs early in the season, all but one return for tonight's game. Committee rightfully takes that into account.- The four CFP teams have a total of 37 5-star recruits. Alabama's squad has 18 of them. They simply have 'more better' players than everyone else.- Screw OSU

screw Bama and discuss PSU. PSU lost both games on the road. They lost to MSU on a last second field goal. BTW, there was a storm which postponed the game 5 hours. Bama and OSU would have gotten a pass on the outcome of that game because ESPN and the media love them some Bama and OSU. PSU should have beaten OSU AT OSU but lost in a great game. PSU was 10-2 and lost on the last play of the game and lost to an OSU team with 1:38 left in the game. And... PSU was winning that game from the start! IF OSU or Bama had the exact same thing happen to them ESPN would be going crazy on how Bama/OSU was shafted by the committee. It is time for an 8 playoff system.

Blue&White wrote:NCAA doesn't get money from the bowl games. And, unless someone can show why it would be more lucrative it won't happen. And, right now I can't see how it would make more than the bowls. We'll see. I wouldn't count on it anytime soon, though.

You are saying that the NCAA doesn't make any money from the bowl games? Who gets the money from the TV rights (I know the loot is spreda out between the conference and teams)? I want to say that if the NCAA went to 8 teams the TV deal would probably double per year. I am taking that if I am Illinois and suck every year.

Blue&White wrote:And, PSU didn't have a good argument to be one of the 4 this year. Last year we got completely screwed but not this year.

This.

Last year versus this year was funny. Last year there were a few teams that people were talking about being worthy to be in the playoff in that last spot. This year it was more like who IS actually deserving?

The argument ESPN makes to support AL is that when they played FSU, FSU was ranked 2. At voting time they were unranked.

The next argument is that all the SEC teams AL played were ranked when AL played them. Yes ESPN and you make sure they are high ranked because they are the SEC.

Then we have the hurt linebacker argument, wait, did ESPN use that one when we lost to UM with a safety and a walkon playing LB, nope.

Arguing how many 5* recruits a team has must be the lamest argument yet.

Sorry the argument varies by year and one thing is for certain, The SEC West gets a spot. Why don't we just give AL the bye and we'll pick 4 teams to play for the honor of playing AL.

The argument that they beat Clemson last night does not make it right either, Syracuse beat Clemson. It just means they finally beat a top 10 team.

And in order to make OSU 5 ESPN also has to try to push down the teams OSU plays so yes PSU has several 2 loss teams ahead of them with weaker schedules and losing by more than 4 point.

The point is ESPN has excessive influence and uses it. It has turned into a beauty contest with ESPN picking the final 4. Before it was just a beauty contest. Still all about the $, not finding the best fairly. And shame on ESPN next time they accuse anyone in NCAA Football about being for the $.

And I'm OK that OSU gets screwed BUT the same method has been, and will be used against PSU. The only way PSU wins a NC is to go undefeated AND play the number 1 team. Under this system PSU will need to win the Big10 and have 1 loss or less. Schedule doesn't matter ESPN has shown they will spin it.